The Great Deceit
by Random Little Imp
Summary: James realizes that he can't drink the pain away and decides to try another way to distract from the pain, but paperwork can be so boring after a while. I hope you like it, but I don't know how often I can update it with my busy life. The bunny wouldn't stop biting though.
1. Chapter 1

Bond found his mark in an opulent flat that he wasn't sure even he could have afforded on his considerable pay. The dark haired man was sitting at a desk watching the video feed of a local pool on his laptop. James couldn't be sure what was going on in the video, the picture was grainy and there was no sound, but it appeared that there was at least three men talking by the pool and one of them had a gun. What ever it was the mark seemed to find it amusing. James slowly crept across the room, his steps silent on the plush carpet. Once close enough, he grabbed the man by the shoulders and hauled him to his feet, spinning him around to face James at the last moment. He had a crazed look of surprise on his face and threw his hands up in defeat,

"Ooh, you're good for a hired gun. The Iceman send you did he, here to take me in." The man was practically laughing as he spoke. It was unnerving how unperturbed the man seemed in the face of certain incarceration. "Well, you can tell dear Mycroft that he won't be getting anything from me. At least you can tell him, if you survive long enough." The smile that spread across his face was pure evil, the most sinister James had ever seen. It distracted him so badly he nearly missed the feel of the air moving across the back of his neck, nearly.

James duck a moment before the rifle butt would have connected with the back of his skull. He drove his elbow back, into the hard gut of the man holding the rifle. He was slightly taller than Bond, so James stayed low and shoved the man backwards to keep him off balance. The rifleman fell into the adjoining room, landing on his back, the rifle sliding a few feet past his reach. James quickly shut the door to the room and blocked it with the chair his mark had been sitting in when James arrived.

"Oh Seb is not going to be happy when he gets out of there." the crazed man actually wang his finger at James, "Tut tut, you shouldn't have done that. He is oh so protective of me. Annoyingly so in fact. At least annoying to other people, until they wind up dead that is." The evil grin was back.

James grab the mark by the arm and dragged him out of the building. Once they were on the street James headed towards the rendezvous point. He was pulling the man along the street and was about to cross when shots rang out from where they had just been. "I told you he wouldn't be happy."

At that moment a large black Land Rover jumped the curb and stopped between them and the shooter. The driver rolled down his window and looked right at James, "Come with me if you want to live."

James rolled his eyes as he pulled open the backdoor and literally threw the mark into the back seat before jumping in himself. "Seriously Alec, I am going to have Q disable your Netflix account if you don't stop with the stupid movie quotes."


	2. Chapter 2

The wind was biting cold as he walked down the streets of London. He barely felt the chill, Bond barely felt anything these days. It had been six months since that night on the moor, the night Skyfall fell, the night M died in his arms. The skies of Britain were grey and he was alive, but he was not living anymore. Nothing held meaning for him. James went to work, did his assignments and came home to the new apartment that MI6 had arranged for him. He hadn't even bothered to unpack yet.

At first he was content with it, his half life. He just let the days flow together, one after the other. After a while though he stopped being able to sleep. No amount of scotch could make his eyes close. He was slowly killing himself with alcohol and sleep deprivation, and he didn't like it. He actually came to realize something had to change. He couldn't spend all his evenings drinking alone in the dark, trying to erase the memories with liquor.

He started spending time at work. At least he was around other people, even if most of them didn't know how to be around him. He started actually doing his after action reports. He found he had an office assigned to him. It was small, barely big enough to fit the desk they gave him. Of course the desk was the only thing in there as he had never asked for anything more to be added, and it had been covered with years of untouched paperwork and memos. Hell, just going through it all and shredding most of it had taken Bond three full days. He had actually cracked a smile and felt vaguely proud of himself when he managed to get it all taken care of and the desk was clear. He had even gone out and bought himself an orchid to have some color in there. When he got called up to take care of a small terrorist cell in Bolivia, he realized the plant would be dead by the time he got back. He lost his smile at that thought.

When he did return two weeks later he found a new pile of memos and forms on his desk as well as an automatic watering system set up with his orchid, which was still alive and now sitting in the perfect spot of indirect sunlight from his one small window. There was no note, but the complex mechanics of the system gave him little doubt as to which department it had come from. The fact that the majority of the forms on his desk were copies of equipment replacement request forms that had descriptions of the wanton destruction he had been responsible for, as reasons for the need of replacements, gave more weight to his assumptions. James decided to order Q a box of the expensive Earl Grey he liked as a thank you and apology in one neat package.

Bond eventually wandered away from his office to try to, for lack of a better word, mingle with his coworkers. There were the other agents around every now and then, and a large selection of attractive people who had never had the pleasure of meeting him. Even with this in mind James ended up in Q Branch more often than not. Q always complained about him hanging around, but he never actually asked him to leave.

The more time he spent with Q the better his moods became. He ended up on first name basis with all of Q's minions, as Eve referred to them as. And on occasion got to test out new equipment prototypes for durability. He was even invited to Simone's baby shower, not that he went to it.

"You know, people are starting to talk about you going soft in your old age." Eve mentioned one day as they both leaned against the back wall of Q Branch watching Q lead 009 through her latest mission.

"Just because I have adapted a less antisocial standing at work does not mean I am going soft." He grumbled in return.

"Then perhaps one of the lovely ladies of Q Branch has caught your eye but you don't know any words big enough to impress her out of her knickers." Eve gave him a gently poke in the ribs with her elbow.

"Very funny, but no, thats not it either. I just find the ordered chaos calming, and the company's not bad either." He smiled at her as he took another sip of his coffee.

"Alright 009, I am passing you off to my capable second in command, R, she can take care of you from here. See you when you return." Bond heard Q say as he passed his headphones off to R.

Q grabbed his satchel and coat and headed towards the elevators. Waving to Eve as he passed them. "Don't have too much fun tonight Q." she said to him, causing a smile and a slight blush to cross the younger man's face.

"He's leaving early this evening. Anything we should be concerned about?" Bond asked Eve after Q had entered the lift.

"Even the tech branch have social lives Bond. Q's boyfriend travels a lot for his work, he's an actor or something, and he happens to be in town tonight. It's been a few weeks since they got to see each so Q is doing something special with him tonight." Eve helpfully filled in. James had yet to understand the appeal of office gossip, but Eve knew everything that was going on in the office.

"Well, good for him. Q deserves some happiness in his life." James took a sip of his coffee to hide his lack of smile. He couldn't put it into words, but something about Q having a boyfriend made him almost angry. Whoever this actor was, James was sure he was not good enough for his quartermaster.


	3. Chapter 3

The next week found James in the weekly staff meeting. It was a first for him, but he figured he could give it a try. It hadn't seemed to matter if he went to one before now, so if he decided not to go to another one he didn't see it being a big deal. The conference room was fairly crowded as the heads of each department, as well as a few members from each of their teams, were all vying for space around the long wooden table in the center of the room. James stayed in the back of the room near the door as he seemed to be the only Double 0 agent in attendance. He started to wonder if he wasn't meant to be there and was just about to turn and leave when a insulated paper cup appeared in front of his nose.

"Black, two sugars." Q said as he stood holding the cup out for James. He wasn't looking at James, his gazed remain dead ahead as he sipped from his own paper cup. James assumed Q's cup was filled with tea instead of coffee, but liked that the younger man had remembered how James liked his.

"Thank you Q, but how did you know I would be here. I've never come before." James asked as he took the cup from Q's hand.

"Eve mentioned to me that you were thinking about coming. You're the first double 0 to ever show up, it's quite a big deal to some. Not me, but to some." Q's mouth quirked up a bit in the corner in an almost smirk.

"Was I not meant to come?" James asked.

"All the double 0 agents are required to attend the weekly staff meeting if they are available. It's mandatory. So of course, they never do. Perhaps you are calming down in your old age, is it time to turn in your license to kill 007?" James could all but hear the smile on Q's face.

"Not quite yet, it was merely morbid curiosity that brought me here. Not to mention my only means of annoying you this morning, which is a daily goal for me." James did truly enjoy their morning banter, and he didn't believe he was alone in that. "Love suits you Q, you are all smiles these days, it's nice. You should find a bloke who's around more often though. Your minions wouldn't have as much stress if you were in such a good mood all the time."

Q nearly choked on his tea, and his subsequent coughing fit caused more than a few heads to turn their way. Once he had calmed down Q turned to James with a look of a teenager who had got caught with a naughty magazine stuffed between his mattresses. "Love? I don't know what your talking about 007. You must be mistaken."

James, who was still gazing in the direction of the front of the room, unperturbed by Q's choking incidence, merely smiled and said, "Well Eve mentioned something to me about that actor boyfriend of yours. I thought perhaps a good shag had improved your demeanor in a positive way and I wanted to express my approval."

"Richard...uhm Richard is not my 'boyfriend', he's he's just, we have uhm, you know I just remembered an important thing I have to go take care of." Q's face had turned an alarming shade of pink, which he must have realized because he ducked it down as he turned and quickly left the room. James almost felt bad for enjoying teasing the genius like that.

"Now our next matter of discussion, James Moriarty." M had moved on to the next topic as a familiar face appeared on the large screen behind his head. He has been released from incarceration after making some kind of deal with the governmental heads. Since then all trace of him has vanished from digital record in an extremely well done hack."

"You have got to be kidding me." James nearly threw his coffee cup onto the conference table in frustration as he voice became louder. "After all the shit I went through to bring him in, he gets a deal and walks free. I was nearly shot by his rifle toting boyfriend."

"I assume you are speaking of Colonel Sebastian Moran, there is no evidence of a romantic link between the two, but they are most certainly working together." M clicked a button on his remote and a new picture appeared on the screen. It was the rifle man that had attacked James in that flat when he came for Moriarty, but the pictured showed him younger and more clean cut, in a military uniform. "Moran has been little more than a hired gun in past years, but since he began his collaboration with James Moriarty he has become the second in command of their criminal empire. Moriarty may be back to his old habits and has been seen with Moran already this week. We have no jurisdiction over them at the moment, but rest assured we will be keeping an eye on their activities."

M moved on to the next topic of discussion but James was still fuming. He decided that he had had enough of this meeting, and would make it a point to miss any more of them. Government bureaucracy would only give him an aneurysm.


	4. Chapter 4

The next month went by without much excitement. At least no more than usual. Missions came and went, bad guys taken care of, in one way or another. The latter was usual Bond's doing, much to Q's dismay. Although he seemed to take Bond's inability to follow directions much easier now. Eve even caught him humming to himself once or twice. Life seemed to be pretty good for the entire MI6 team for the first time in years. So obviously It couldn't continue for long.

It was just another day at the start. Bond was standing with Eve near the back of Q Branch sipping their coffees and making little jibes at each other. Q was trying very hard to look annoyed by their presence but he couldn't seem to keep the smile from creeping across his face. It was in that moment of seemingly perfect calm that his whole world imploded.

"Sir, there's been a security breach at the Bank of England. Someone opened the vault!" One of the tech called out from a desk on the left. All mirth immediately left the room as both Eve and Bond dropped their cups in the nearest trash bin and headed towards Q's desk. His fingers were already flying over the keys and surveillance feeds were coming up on the big screen at the head of the room.

Then another tech called out from the right side of the room. "Sir, someone opened all the cells at Pentonville Prison." James turned to look at the tech in disbelief, these things don't just happen. And they certainly don't happen at the same time. Q brought up more video feeds without even a pause.

"Sir, the Tower of London. Someone is stealing The Crown Jewels." The room went silent at that, with the exception of Q's typing, but when the security feed from the Tower came up on screen even that stopped. Q stepped back from his keyboard in horror as he stared at the image on the screen, knocking his mug off the edge of his desk. It smashed to pieces on the floor as Q's knees began to buckle beneath him. James was able to catch the younger man before he fell.

He looked at the screen with a sneer on his face as he held Q upright. "Moriarty." James practically growled. It was Q's tiny whispering voice that completely deflated James' anger, "No, no, no Richard what have you done."

James turned to look at Q's face and saw the tears streaming down his cheeks, his skin more pale than James had ever seen it. It took only a moment to piece together what was happening. Richard was the name of Q's actor not-boyfriend, who had obviously seen Q as nothing but a means to an end. How else could someone like James Moriarty disappear from digital record without the help of a genius level computer tech. Q had been used and manipulated by this villain of a man with the promise of love. James understood something about this type of betrayal. The weight of the situation bore down on both of them until James could no longer keep them standing and slowly collapsed to the floor, the other man landing in his lap.

"How could I have not been briefed on that mission! I am his quartermaster, I have clearance for all the pertinent data of every mission the double O agents run." Q had moved past the initial shock and despair and was now just angry.

Q, James and Eve were seated around the conference table in the same room that the staff meetings were held, while M paced along the open space at the back end of the room. Numerous files lay open across the table top showing many glossy surveillance photos of James Moriarty. Eve sat silently at the corner of the table her fingers steepled and her eyes cast downward while Q sat fuming beside her. James appeared calm as he sat back in his chair, one elbow on the table with his hand casually draped under his chin. If you looked at his other hand you would see how it was gripping the armrest so tightly the wood was beginning to crack.

M turned towards the trio and with a sigh attempted to explain. "The orders for his original capture came from a government body that wanted the whole thing kept quiet. While his criminal exploits were well known, they had no actual evidence against him to warrant an arrest. No one was to know about the operation except those who were directly involved. Which included Tanner, myself, 006 and 007."

"Lovely, Mycroft Holmes calls you up for a little, highly illegal, favor and you just put your best agents in harms way on a whim." Q was practically livid.

"I never said it was Holmes who ordered the mission." M looked at Q with what was meant to be a mask of surprise, but didn't really fool anyone.

"You didn't have to. This has his name all over it, of course the whole 'Get Sherlock' message on the glass certainly didn't hurt with that deduction." Q spun in his chair till he was facing the wall, his arms crossed against his chest.

"So now what? Do I go after him again?" James was trying to stay calm as the anger boiled inside him. He wasn't sure why he felt so protective of Q, they barely knew each other.

It was at this moment that Eve raised her head and spoke. "Scotland Yard has already apprehended him. He didn't even try to escape. He wanted to get caught, to make a spectacle of himself."

"The question remains, how did he manage to erase all trace of himself from digital record? It would have taken a considerable amount of skill to pull that off. I can only think of a handful of people in the world who could do it. That should be our priority now, finding his accomplice." M had gone back to pacing as he spoke, fingers to his chin as if deep in thought. James looked over at Q and saw that his shoulders had slumped and the man looked like all the strength had left him again.

Then he spoke, "You don't have to look any further than right in this room." Q turned back to face a shocked M. "That was me. I assure you I had no idea what I was doing, he manipulated my feelings for him. He convinced me that James Moriarty was a stage name he had used in his Uni days, when he had done some morally questionable films to pay the bills. He said he was afraid that if they came to light it would ruin his career. I offered to erase any trace of it from the web. He seemed so surprised that I could do that, he was a good actor after all. He made me promise not to look at any of it because he didn't want it to taint my view of him." Q slumped over in his chair, "I am such an idiot."

"It's just as well you didn't look at it. If Moriarty thought for even a moment that you might have been on to him he would have slit your throat in your sleep and kissed your forehead as you bleed out on your pillow. The man is insane and ruthless." James tried to keep his voice as calm as possible as he spoke.

M sighed again, "Am I to assume that what you did was irreversible, even for you."

Q took a deep breath, "Not even I can bring it back, I was very careful."

"Well I guess we can turn our focus on Moran. He was not at the Tower this morning and his current whereabouts are unknown. I want to know where he is, and everything he does from here on out. If he crosses against the light I want to know and I want him brought in." M left the room at that and Eve began to take up the files.

Q reached out and took one of the photos of Moriarty and gazed down at it, a look of loss in his eyes that James knew well. "I am sorry Q, you deserve better than this. I wish I could have done something to prevent this."

Q stood slowly, handing the photo to Eve as he walked to the door. "Thank you James, but what's done is done. Let's not dwell on things we can not change."


	5. Chapter 5

The next month seemed to crawl by. James still spent his free time in Q Branch but instead of a relaxing place of ordered chaos he had always enjoyed, it had become full of tension. Those that were not present the morning of the break in at the Tower of London heard about it from those who were. Everyone was unsure how to handle Q at this point and were walking on eggshells to avoid triggering a breakdown in the respected man. James would have found somewhere else to go if it weren't for the fact he was worried about Q as well.

He wanted to be there if the younger man needed a hand to hold of a fist to punch someone. James was a blunt instrument, ready to be used by those he held in high regard, and Q was fast climbing to the top of that list. He often thought that if the desire to leave MI6 became too great and he could coax the boffin away, the two of them could make quite the mark on the world together. Mostly though, he didn't want to let Q stray out of sight, in case something else should happen.

At the start of the trial Q put in for some personal time off. Everyone assumed that he wanted to hide out and avoid any news about Moriarty, but James knew Q would want to be there for every minute of it. When he told M of this, the director insisted that if Q was going to put himself in that situation he would not be alone. James was immediately assigned as Q's bodyguard. M felt it might also be a good opportunity to try and get eyes on Moran, who had not been seen since the arrest of Moriarty.

The first day of the trial Q sat in the back of the courtroom with James when Moriarty entered. He was sworn in and took his seat. James could sense the obvious tension in the man beside him, like Q was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Q's eyes never left Moriarty's face waiting for the criminal to notice him in the crowd. Q wanted to see if his Richard was still in there, if he would have some crack in his facade at the recognition. He wanted to know if he had been played completely or if Moriarty had some small bit of remorse in his treatment of Q.

When James Moriarty stopped staring at the curly head man seated in the front of the room and scanned the rest of the room he did stop briefly on Q's face. Instead of the remorseful look Q was hoping for Moriarty just grinned and kept chewing on his gum. He was smug and he wanted Q to know that he had been used. Moriarty wanted to break Q, wanted him to know he had been bested. James felt a strong urge to shoot him where he was, law be damned.

The trial continued for a few days, and with the exception of one Sherlock Holmes being held in contempt of court, it was a fairly uninteresting. James was waiting outside the courthouse when Mr. Holmes was released from his overnight stay. James carefully approached his friend Watson first and extended his business card. "I want to extend an offer of assistance to you and your partner in the regards to Mr. Moriarty if you should have need."

John looked at the card James had handed him and little taken aback by the sudden offer, "We're not a couple, and I'm not sure what use an import export company would be to us in any situation."

"Don't be foolish John, this man is as much an import export man as I am a shoe salesman. Did my brother send you?" The tall man with the curly hair and long coat came to stand beside the men.

"If you are speaking of Mycroft, no he did not send me. I am here for other reasons, and am honestly just offering you my skills in case you or your man need them. I am sure you are aware of the kind of help I could be to you." Sherlock was living up to his reputation, and James decided to drop all pretenses.

"As my friend said already, we are not a couple, although I could see where you might be confused on that matter." Sherlock glanced over James' shoulder and the agent knew without looking that Q was leaving the courtroom behind him, "Projecting much, Agent. Tell my brother we are not in need of his hired gun." The haughty tone of the words made James want to throttle the taller man as he strode past him, but he refrained as he knew it would not lead anywhere good. Sherlock Holmes would be on his own, and James had a feeling that is exactly how he liked it. He only hoped the detective had a plan.

Q came to stand beside James in the hall as he watched the other men walk towards the doors to the street. "What was that about?" Q asked.

"Just offering them my help. I have a feeling they are in far more danger from Moriarty than you are." James looked at the younger man. "I'm sorry to say it Q but I feel you were just a means to an end for Moriarty. I feel you are just as safe from him as anyone else, but those two are on a course of mutual destruction."

"I think you might be right about that Bond. I am relieved of course, although I have to admit I hoped that I had meant a bit more in this game than just another pawn to be tossed aside when it was of no more use." Q stated as he was looking through information on a small tablet he had brought with him.

"You really don't want to be on the hit list of that maniac Q, count your blessings your relationship ended with you both still breathing. Any sign of Moran?" James clapped a hand on the other man's shoulder.

"No, if they do have any further plans together, they are keeping a very low profile. I think we should head back in to be debriefed." Q put his tablet into his satchel and headed for the street, James close on his heels


	6. Chapter 6

The debriefing lasted hours and essentially accomplished nothing. As long as Moriarty was in police custody and Moran was nowhere to be found there was nothing they could do. They were stuck on the sidelines watching things play out. When the verdict came back as not guilty Bond's calm broke, as did the crystal decanter that he flung against the wall. Q, on the other hand, seemed to get some of his resolve back. It wasn't long before he found the program Moriarty had used to hack into the juror's tv feeds at the hotel. The information was useless of course, they knew Moriarty would never go quietly, he would always find a way out. And M decided they couldn't risk the body count on such a small infraction.

M made sure to keep eyes on Moriarty from the moment he left the courthouse. If he tried anything that seemed even remotely illegal the orders were to bring him down any way necessary. The only things he seemed to do was text almost nonstop and show up for tea at the Baker Street home of one consulting detective.

As much as they wanted to keep tabs on his activities Q couldn't even manage to hack into his phone to monitor his communications. The encryption Moriarty had put on it left even Q scratching his head as how to get through it. It was much too complex for Moriarty to have come up with on his own, and there was only a handful of people in the world who could pull it off, unfortunately the whereabouts of all of them were unknown and not likely to change. These hackers were good enough that if they didn't want to be found they wouldn't be.

At the end of the day James came up behind Q as he was screaming at the other techs in Q branch, he placed a calm hand on Q's shoulder. Q stopped screaming instantly and his shoulders slumped a little in exhaustion. "You look like you need a drink."

Q turned to James, a small smirk on his face, "You destroyed the scotch, remember."

James let out a laugh, "I meant somewhere else. You need a break, and I need some fresh air. I think they will understand if you call it a night."

Q looked unsure of what to do, "What if they need us? What if something happens?"

James began to pull the younger man towards the door." It's been thirty-six hours and he hasn't done anything, I think they can spare us for one night." James began pulling Q's sweater on him as Q was still trying to get back to his desk. "You need a rest and to recharge that magnificent brain of yours if you are going to be of any use to them."

Q finally seemed to give in and began a slow march to the lift. "Fine, but don't even think about leaving me at the bar by myself after finding some vapid little blonde to go home with. I will cancel all your company credit cards and report your Aston as stolen."

"I promise you Q, there is no one I would rather spend my evening with than you. You're not going to be able to get rid of me that easily." James was amazed at just how true that statement actually was.

The next few weeks seem to go by uneventfully. Moriarty barely left his flat and there was still no sign of Moran. Although the influx of international assassins migrating to the Baker Street area was somewhat unnerving. The appropriate people in government had been notified and James was sent to rent a room not a block from the area of interest.

He was now considered to be on call if anything should happen. It was dull work, basically a long term stakeout. He wasn't to leave the area under any circumstance, so take out and telly was all he had to look forward to for the foreseeable future. Except for a daily update from Q and M James had little human contact. Unless you counted paying the delivery guy for his dinner, he spent most of his days in silence.

It was during the second week that there was a knock at James' door. He had already gotten his dinner delivery and was not expecting anyone else. When he went to the door he had his Walther in hand, but he quickly put it aside when he saw who was on the other side. Q stood there with a bottle of what appeared to be a mildly expensive scotch and two glasses.

"I thought you might like some company." Q sounded almost nervous, but James was too happy to have another living person to talk to that he barely noticed. He slung an arm around the younger man's shoulders and lead him inside not even trying to hide the smile on his face.

Unfortunitly before James managed to close the door was when the street outside his window was suddenly filled with flashing lights. It seemed that the entirety of the MET was pulling up outside of 221 Baker Street. Q was on the phone to headquarters immediately while James put his gun in his holster and slipped into his suit jacket. He was about to head out the door and down the street when Q grabbed his arm. "It's not Moriarty, they're here for Sherlock."

"What? That's ridiculous, he hasn't done anything to warrant this kind of attention." James stared out the window at the scene unfolding on the street below.

"They seem to think he has been perpetrating the crimes he helps them solve to make himself look good." Q was putting the phone back in his pocket as Sherlock was lead out of his building and to the waiting police cars in handcuffs.

"Well he is not the most personable of men, but I wouldn't think him capable of that. It must be Moriarty's plan to discredit him as revenge. Is there anything we can do?"

Q shook his head and looked at the floor, "Your orders are for Moriarty or Moran. This situation is out of our hands."

James watched as John Watson was then dragged out of the building as well and handcuffed to Sherlock. What happened next went very quickly and James pulled Q to the floor as soon as the shot rang out.

Slowly James raised his head from the floor and peered out the window. "They're on their own now." James watched the pair race down the alley away from them. "So how about that drink."

"Are you kidding me 007, Moriarty's plot is coming to a head and you want to sit back and get pissed! We have to go into headquarters to be debriefed immediately!" Q practically dragged him out of the flat.


	7. Chapter 7

"He jumped off the bloody building!" James Bond was staring at the CCTV feed on the largest monitor in Q branch in disbelief. "Why the hell would he do that?!"

"He's fine 007, calm yourself." Q was barely looking at the screen as he continued to type away, stoic as can be.

"What do you mean he's fine, there is a body bleeding all over the pavement. Do you really think that's the definition of 'fine'." Bond couldn't understand how the younger man could be so unfeeling of the situation. He did see Q flinch slightly at the satellite image of Moriarty putting the gun in his mouth and pulling the trigger. A bit of a shock to all present, but by the time the body hit the rooftop Q had regained his icy persona.

"Sherlock Holmes is not bleeding all over the pavement Bond. I'm not sure who that is but I'm pretty sure that he was already dead. See for yourself." With a few clicks Q had another camera angle on the scene, one that would have been impossible to see from street level. Sherlock's fall from the roof played out with a totally different conclusion.

"That's actually quite brilliant. I might have to watch that again and take notes. How long do you think it took him to get that all set up?" James was impressed. It's not a simple thing to fake your own death, but Sherlock Holmes made it look easy.

"Using Mycroft Holmes and his resources, I'd say about 5 hours give or take. It is also believed that Sherlock himself had quite a few allies on the streets around London ready to help him out at any given moment." James saw what appeared to be a small grin appear and then disappear from Q's lips.

Just when did he start watching Q's lips, and why hadn't he stopped yet?

James cleared his throat and quickly looked back at the screen, "And Moriarty? Did he fake his death too?"

"Not as far as I can tell. You can see they are taking the body away from the roof on a stretcher now." The picture had returned to the view from the satellite, and showed two men in white placing the body of Jim Moriarty onto a stretcher and carrying him back to the access door, presumably to be taken to the morgue.

"Well that's that than. Case closed on Jim Moriarty." James was almost disappointed that he wouldn't get to pummel the madman for Q, but at least it was over.

"There is still the matter of dismantling his 'criminal empire' of course, and Moran." Q mentioned the sniper almost offhandedly. It brought an eerie smile to James' face that there was still things to do, people to be handled.

"I took down the last assassin from Baker Street tonight Q and there is still no sign of Moran." James Bond was still smoking slightly as he made his way into Q branch.

"Took down?! You molotov'd his convertible. You created a fireball four stories high. Your coat is still on fire! That is a little more than a take down 007." To the untrained ear one might think that Q was mad about the damage and chaos Bond had caused in the heart of London, but James knew better. Q might have a proper image to uphold but deep down, he really enjoyed the spectacle.

James pulled off his smouldering suit jacket and tossed it in the nearest flame retardant trash bin. His face was smudged with grease and ash as he came up beside Q. He smacked the younger man on the back, "You always know how to compliment a man."

"God you smell like a diesel lorry. Go shower up before we all die from the fumes." Q gave him an almost playful shove.

"Why Quartermaster I had no idea you wanted to get me out of my pants so badly." James laughed as he jogged out of Q branch and headed down to the agent's locker room.

It was a good day on the job, James thought as he lathered up, but there was still Moran to worry about. The sniper had yet to turn up on any surveillance. It worried James a bit, because while he was the only one to think there more to his partnership with Moriarty than a paycheck, everyone was sure he would be out for revenge on someone. The question was who did he have left to blame.

John Watson was under the almost constant eye of the British Government, but hadn't done much but stay in and mourn the loss of his friend. James actually felt bad,knowing that it was all a lie. Had he known the man better he would find it impossible not to expose the fraud to him, but he didn't know the man. And if the Holmes brothers felt the need to keep up the charade it was their decision. It would also be their mess when the truth eventually came to light, as it always did.

James was just about to step out of the shower stall when the alarms began going off. The noise was deafening in the locker room, as the tile walls made everything echo. James quickly made his way to where they kept the clean sweats for the training room and grabbed a set. He was just pulling the shirt on over his head when the lights went out and the flashing red back ups kicked decided that he didn't have time for the trainers and instead headed for the gun cage at the shooting range down the hall.

"James?" the whispered voice startled him for a moment, then he remembered he still had his ear piece in from earlier. He was always forgetting to take those out after a mission. "James, I hope you can hear me." Q sounded very concerned in his ear and James wished he could reply, but his mic was still pinned inside his coat collar.

"There are five men, Moran is one of them. They came in through one of the old tunnels I had maintenance seal off. Remind me to have a word with them in the morning." Q gave a strained little laugh that was clearly forced, "They are heavily armed and heading this way. They seem to know exactly where they are going. James, I think he is coming for me."

Q sounded very frightened under his calm words, and James did not like the way it made his voice crack. Moran had obviously found the outlet for his revenge, unfortunately for him he would have to get through James first.


	8. Chapter 8

After breaking into the gun cage at the shooting range and arming himself, James was slowly making his way back to Q Branch. Q had been silent but that didn't mean James had nothing to listen to.

Moran and his men were not trying to be stealthy, In fact they were making a point of letting everyone know they were there. James and Q were far from alone in the building, but most people had evacuated as soon as the emergency lights had come on. They didn't need a reason, they knew better than to stick around to find out what was going on. There were a few low level agents that had gone to see what was going on. Unfortunately they were not prepared to face the onslaught of the heavily armed mercenaries roaming the halls. The gunfire echoed throughout the building.

James was not about to make the same mistakes, he would make his presence known only when necessary, and hopefully when he had the upper hand. He was still barefoot which helped him move silently, using the dark shadows created by the dim lighting to his advantage.

Luckily for James, he had spent plenty of time finding the most unused routes through the building in order to avoid debriefings and medical personnel. More than once had he come across people sneaking a smoke, or snogging a co-worker out of sight of the security cameras. He had made note of every blind spot he had come across, saving the information for just this type of situation. He had no idea if Moran had access to the security feeds, but he wasn't about to take the chance.

He was about to round the last corner before entering the open expanse of Q Branch when he suddenly heard a voice in his ear that was not his quartermaster. A voice so menacing it made him stop in his tracks. "Come out, come out wherever you are, you gangly little piece of shit!" Moran had made it to Q branch. Q must have left the microphone on before hiding away somewhere so James would hear what was happening. The younger man was always thinking ahead, and this little gift had probably just saved James' life.

"I know he never loved you, he was just using you to for your ability to make him disappear, digitally. You must have figured that out by now." Moran was angry, James could hear it in his voice. He could also hear them trashing Q Branch in their search for Q. It wouldn't take too long to find him, there were only so many places to hide in the cavernous space. "He loved me! He never loved you, and now he's gone! Sherlock is gone and I have no one else to blame, but you! You had something to do with this, I can feel it!" Moran was screaming now, practically spit the words, losing any sense of control over his emotions, he was going to make someone pay for Moriarty's death, and Q was the one in the crosshairs. The crashing got louder as Moran became more frustrated. "Even if you didn't have anything to do with it, he spent time with you that he should have been spending with me."

There was a scream as James heard a slap and what sounded like a body being thrown across the room. They had found Q, his time had just run out. James burst into the room just in time to see Moran pointing his pistol at Q as he lay on the ground beside his desk. His lip was bloody where Moran had hit him. The sight of the injured younger man infuriated James and he took aim at the sniper, not worrying about the other armed men as he stalked across the room. They both fired at the same moment.

Q's screams filled the room as blood splattered across his clean, white tiled floor.


	9. Chapter 9

Moran slammed into the floor as James tackled him. Blood began pooling on the ground from the bullet wound James had put in Moran's shoulder. The sniper screamed as James landed a solid punch right to the wound before scampering back to his feet. He swung his gun around the room, but the other men had obviously run for cover when James started shooting. He ran over to Q and grabbed the smaller man under the arms and half dragged him back behind another desk on the far side of the room.

As soon as James was sure they had a moment before the other men regrouped he began to assess Q's injuries. As it turned out Q was quite lucky that his wounds were not life threatening, at least not as far as James was concerned. "Oh god, I'm dying aren't I. I feel like I'm dying." Q was muttering the entire time James was looking him over.

"You're not dying Q. It went right through your side there, but you are bleeding." James looks around for something to hold against the wound, only to find they had taken refuge right beside the trash can holding his burnt suit jacket. He pulls the ruined clothing from the trash can plucking the mic from the collar before pressing it against Q's wound. "You're lucky he missed, he was aiming for your heart."

"I suppose he thought that would be a poetic death, given the circumstances. I guess I owe you one for that. You hitting him in the shoulder must have thrown off his aim. Was that your intention?"

"I was aiming for his head." James takes a moment to look over the desk, to avoid eye contact with Q.

"It's not like you to miss that easy of a shot, are you injured?"

"I was distracted by my concern." James looks down at the microphone in his hand before attaching it to his shirt collar.

"Concern? Concern for me?" Q looks almost shocked at the admittance, as a light blush creeps up his cheeks.

"What can I say, you do things to me I'd rather not admit to." James looks the other man in the eyes as he says the words, trying to gauge Q's reaction. " i have to go, before Moran's men come back. I won't be long." James reaches around to the small of his back, and pulls out a handgun and hands it to Q.

"You're going to leave me here, on my own?" Q takes the gun from James, with fear in his voice.

James takes the younger man's face in his hand, "I promise, I will be right back for you." James gently pressed his lips to the younger man's, softly at first but as he felt Q kiss him back it became deeper and more passionate but breaking it off after a few seconds.

James, checks his ammo level and begins to move away from the desk. As he moves out of sight he hears Q whisper in his ear, " You better be because we are not done with this conversation." He can't quite keep the smile off his face.

All frivolity is lost when he comes back around to face Moran only to find the sniper gone, nothing left behind but a blood trail. Following the droplets in the direction of some seldom used offices across from Q branch, James keeps his gun at the ready as he systematically checks each room. He finds one of Moran's men hiding behind a filing cabinet, and yet another in the mop closet. James takes them out one by one until the only one left to find is Moran himself. Still following the blood trail James quickly realizes that Moran is moving in a circle back to Q branch.

"It would seem Jim's little piece of ass didn't have to wait too long before finding someone else to warm his sheets did he?" Moran is taunting James, his voice echoing down the empty hallway. "What is it about this boffin that has all the men falling all over themselves for him. Is he that tasty, perhaps after I kill you I'll take a taste for myself. See what all the fuss is about, before I kill him that is." The laughter that follows the last statement sends a chill down James' spine, and reminds him a little too much of Moriarty. No wonder these two worked so well together.

James picks up his pace as he hears Q's breathing speed up over the comm in his ear. Moran has made it back to Q Branch, and James is too far behind. He starts to run as he begins thinking about losing Q now, after everything that they just went through.

"James, he's coming. What do I do?" James wants to tell Q to run, but he knows with his injury he'd never get far enough away.

"Stay quiet, and stay low Q I'm on my way. Keep the gun up and ready in case I don't make it before he finds you." He tries to keep his voice calm, but even he can hear the edge of panic in his words. He knows Q can shoot as well as any agent, but he's never been in the field. He's not like James, he's never taken another life, at least not up close and personal like this. James isn't sure if Q is fully prepared to shoot another person, even if his life depended on it.

"Well what have we here? A little mouse hiding behind a big gun." James can hear Moran over his comm and that means he's found Q already. James begins to sprint the last hundred yards to Q Branch. " I was going to have some fun with you first, but you really are not my type. Oh well, I'll just have to have fun with your blond boy toy instead."

James is just crossing the threshold into Q Branch when he hears two shots ring out in quick succession. It's Moran's body that drops lifeless to the floor. James stops in his tracks and mutters a prayer of thanks to whatever gods are out there. Seconds later there is a loud bang as the MI6 extraction team finally makes their way through the elevator shaft to late to do any good.

As the black clad team of would be rescuers spread out to look for any more threats James makes his way over to Q. He is already be attended to by some of the medical staff. "Are these guys bothering you Q, I know plenty of ways to get rid of them if you like."

"That will not be necessary Bond, unlike you I don't mind professional medical attention OW! Watch it with those scissors, you are meant to be cutting my clothes not me!"

"Then I should leave you to their tender mercies." James smiled and turned to go find M for a debriefing.

"Oh no you don't, you are not getting out of this that easily." Q's voice had returned to his usual authoritative manner. James turned to look at the man laying on the floor addressing him. "there is still the matter of your inappropriate behavior earlier."

"Inappropriate?" James looked at Q confused as the younger man was lifted onto a gurney before waving the medical staff away.

"There are protocols to be followed, and interactions between office colleagues should be handled in a certain manner."

"Colleagues?" James was starting to wonder if Q had hit his head, he had kissed back James was sure of it.

"I know you think that you are some sort of modern day Casanova, but there is a time and a place for that kind of thing."

"Casanova!" James was starting to think that he had imagined the reciprocation.

"Perhaps we should discuss this further, over dinner. Perhaps with a nice bottle of Sangiovese." Q gave James a sly little grin.

James nearly laughed out loud in relief, "I prefer scotch, but never let it be said I wasn't able to follow someone else's lead."


End file.
